Match 56 DB Rec# - 7,508 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Colombia
Text :
Colombia
Geography
Location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and
Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
Map references:
South America
Area:
total area:
1,138,910 sq km
land area:
1,038,700 sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than three times the size of Montana
note:
includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank
Land boundaries:
total 7,408 km, Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900
km, Venezuela 2,050 km
Coastline:
3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela;
territorial dispute with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y
Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Climate:
tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern
lowland plains
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds
Land use:
arable land:
4%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
29%
forest and woodland:
49%
other:
16%
Irrigated land:
5,150 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution,
especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
natural hazards:
highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic
droughts
Geography
international agreements:
party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping
Note:
only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and
Caribbean Sea
People
Population:
36,200,251 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
32% (female 5,784,010; male 5,925,600)
15-64 years:
63% (female 11,642,870; male 11,245,235)
65 years and over:
5% (female 888,358; male 714,178) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.7% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
21.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
4.69 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
26.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
72.48 years
male:
69.68 years
female:
75.38 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.4 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Colombian(s)
adjective:
Colombian
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Indian 3%, Indian
1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
Spanish
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1985)
total population:
88%
male:
88%
female:
88%
Labor force:
12 million (1990)
by occupation:
services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Colombia
conventional short form:
Colombia
local long form:
Republica de Colombia
local short form:
Colombia
Digraph:
CO
Type:
republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital:
Bogota
Administrative divisions:
32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital
district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico,
Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco,
Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena,
Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y
Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada
Independence:
20 July 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Constitution:
5 July 1991
Legal system:
based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was
enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
President Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (since 7 August 1994); election last held
29 May 1994 (next to be held May 1998) and resulted in no candidate
receiving more than 50% of the total vote; a run-off election to select a
president from the two leading candidates was held on 19 June 1994; results
- Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (Liberal Party) 50.4%, Andres PASTRANA Arango
(Conservative Party) 48.6%, blank votes 1%; Humberto de la CALLE was elected
vice president in a new proceedure that replaces the traditional designation
of vice presidents by newly elected presidents.
cabinet:
Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress (Congreso)
Senate (Senado):
elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998);
preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (102 total)
Liberal Party 59, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 31, other 12
House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes):
elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998);
preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (161 total)
Liberal Party 89, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 53, AD/M-19 2,
other 17
Government
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justical), Constitutional Court,
Council of State
Political parties and leaders:
Liberal Party (PL), Juan Guillermo ANGEL; Conservative Party (PC), Fabio
VALENCIA Cossio; National Salvation Movement (MSN), Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado;
New Democratic Force (NDF), Andres PASTRANA Arango; Democratic Alliance M-19
(AD/M-19) is a coalition of small leftist parties and dissident liberals and
conservatives; Patriotic Union (UP) is a legal political party formed by
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian Communist Party
(PCC), Carlos ROMERO
Other political or pressure groups:
three insurgent groups are active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC), Manuel MARULANDA and Alfonso CANO; National Liberation
Army (ELN), Manuel PEREZ; and dissidents of the recently demobilized
People's Liberation Army (EPL), Francisco CARABALLO; Francisco CARABALLO was
captured by the government in June 1994
Member of:
AG, CCC, CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL,
OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Carlos LLERAS de la Fuente
chancery:
2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 387-8338
FAX:
[1] (202) 232-8643
consulate(s) general:
Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San
Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC
consulate(s):
Atlanta and Tampa
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Myles R. R. FRECHETTE
embassy:
Calle 38, No. 8-61, Bogota
mailing address:
Apartado Aereo 3831, Bogota; APO AA 34038
telephone:
[57] (1) 320-1300
FAX:
[57] (1) 288-5687
consulate(s):
Barranquilla
Flag:
three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar
to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of
arms superimposed in the center
Economy
Overview:
Colombia's economy has grown steadily since 1991, when the government
implemented sweeping economic reform measures. President SAMPER, who took
office in August 1994, has pledged to maintain those reforms while expanding
government assistance for poor Colombians, who continue to make up about 40%
of the population. In an effort to bring down inflation, SAMPER has arranged
a "social pact" with business and labor to curtail price hikes and trim
inflation to 18%. The rapid development of oil, coal, and other
nontraditional industries, along with copious inflows of capital and
strengthening of prices for coffee, have helped keep growth at 5%-6%.
Development of the massive Cusiana oilfield provides the means to sustain
this level over the next several years. Exporters say, however, that their
sales have been hampered by the appreciation of the Colombian peso, and
farmers have sought government help in adjusting to greater foreign
competition. Moreover, increased foreign investment and even greater
domestic growth have been hindered by an inadequate energy and
transportation infrastructure and by violence stemming from drug trafficking
and persistent rural insurgency.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $172.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
5.7% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$4,850 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
22.6% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
7.9% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$16 billion (1995 est.)
expenditures:
$21 billion (1995 est.)
Exports:
$8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
petroleum, coffee, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers
partners:
US 39%, EC 25.7%, Japan 2.9%, Venezuela 8.5% (1992)
Imports:
$10.6 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities:
industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals,
paper products
partners:
US 36%, EC 18%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 6.5%, Japan 8.7% (1992)
External debt:
$12.6 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 5% (1994 est.); accounts for about 20% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
10,220,000 kW
production:
33 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
890 kWh (1993)
Economy
Industries:
textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals,
metal products, cement; mining - gold, coal, emeralds, iron, nickel, silver,
salt
Agriculture:
growth rate 3.8% (1994 est.); accounts for about 15% of GDP; crops make up
two-thirds and livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and soils
permit a wide variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco, corn,
sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseeds, vegetables; forest products and shrimp
farming are becoming more important
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of coca, opium poppies, and cannabis; about 45,000 hectares
of coca under cultivation; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives
into cocaine; supplier of cocaine to the US and other international drug
markets; active eradication program against narcotics crop
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.6 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.3 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $399 million
Currency:
1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 846.67 (January 1995), 844.84 (1994),
863.06 (1993), 759.28 (1992), 633.05 (1991), 502.26 (1990)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railroads:
total:
3,386 km
standard gauge:
150 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
3,236 km 0.914-m gauge (2,611 km in use)
Highways:
total:
107,377 km (1991)
paved:
12,778 km
unpaved:
gravel/earth 94,599 km
Inland waterways:
14,300 km, navigable by river boats
Pipelines:
crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km; natural
gas liquids 125 km
Ports:
Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres,
Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo
Merchant marine:
total:
22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 104,577 GRT/142,617 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 6, cargo 9, container 4, oil tanker 3
Airports:
total:
1,307
with paved runways over 3,047 m:
2
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
7
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
34
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
31
with paved runways under 914 m:
734
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
80
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
419
Communications
Telephone system:
1,890,000 telephones; modern system in many respects
local:
NA
intercity:
nationwide microwave radio relay system; 11 domestic earth stations
international:
2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 413, FM 0, shortwave 28
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
33
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
Branches:
Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Marines and Coast
Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia
Nacional)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 9,851,980; males fit for military service 6,640,348; males
reach military age (18) annually 349,599 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $1.2 billion (1992 est.)
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This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).
The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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